


Blowback

by Sephone_North



Series: Book 2: Riptide [9]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: "When will you learn ThAt YoUR AcTIoNS HaVE COnsequesQUencES??, Aang Needs a Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Zuko Needs a Hug, sokka needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:40:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29880570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephone_North/pseuds/Sephone_North
Summary: There are consequences to our actions. Sometimes there are good, sometimes they are bad. Intentions mean nothing when the actions cause harm.
Relationships: Aang & Katara & Sokka, The Gaang 2.0, Zuko & Azula & Yue
Series: Book 2: Riptide [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874428
Comments: 26
Kudos: 238





	Blowback

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



> Whoop Whoop! 
> 
> So proud of myself. Okay, enjoy this!

Zuko was by Sokka’s side the moment the initial heat wave had passed. Fire wrapped around his hand, he pressed it to the other boy’s chest, fighting to keep his breath even. 

_Lungs first, then eyes, then skin,_ He thought, repeating the mantra in his head. He had to go slow with the lungs. They were delicate, and he had to be careful. Luckily, the burns were mostly in the upper airways. But there were damaged sacs in the lungs themselves.

“Breathe in, breathe out,” Zuko murmured, ignoring everything around him. “Breathe, Sokka.” 

The boy couldn’t hear him, being unconscious. But it helped Zuko. 

_Lungs first, then eyes, then skin_

\---

Katara froze, torn between the two bodies on the floor. Aang was curled up, coughing and choking, while Sokka was lying still. Too still. Zuko was there, bent over, fire wreathed hands pressed against Sokka’s chest. 

For a moment, Katara remembered her mother, knelt before a firebending soldier. She wanted to scream, to drag Zuko away from her brother. She took a step, hands clenched. 

A hand on her shoulder jerked her back, and she turned back to look into bright blue eyes. Yue shook her head. “Check on Aang,” the older girl ordered. “I will see if Azula needs help.” 

Rage gripped Katara’s chest. “Azula?” She forced out. “This is her fault!” 

Yue’s eyes were glaciers, sharp, cold, and unbreakable. “Check on the Avatar,” She repeated, before turning around and jogging to the cliff where Azula had been. 

_How-?_ She was shaking, she was so mad, as she hurried to Aang’s side. _How could she side with the firebenders? How could she put them before Aang? How could someone from a Water Tribe-?_ She shook her head, before pressing her hand to Aang’s shoulder. 

He looked up, tears in his eyes. “Katara?” He rasped. His voice was weak. 

“Hey, Aang, I’m here,” She said softly. “Just breathe, I’m right here. It’ll be okay.” 

She glanced back at Sokka’s still body. 

“It’ll be okay.” 

\---

Yue didn’t let herself panic as she hurried to find Azula. 

_“Panic is what gets people killed, kiddo,” Sai rumbled as he grabbed the rhino’s head, keeping the beast still while she leaned down to check it’s claws. “First rule to command, don’t panic. If the person in charge panics, then everyone does. And everyone dies.”_

She crested the hill and paused as Azula began climbing up to her feet, coughing slightly. She slid down to help. Azula glanced up and Yue raised her eyebrows. The girl sighed. 

“There is a Great Spirit here,” The princess said, straightening up and rubbing her eyes. Himiko peaked out from under her collar, letting out a soft squeak. “It told me to light the Avatar on fire.” 

“A Great Spirit?” Yue asked softly. 

“Fujin.” They traded a look that spoke volumes. 

Yue was Chosen by Tui, but she’d never been placed in danger directly by the spirit. Her people had been threatened, yes, but not Yue herself. In fact, it felt as if Tui actually cared about her wellbeing, except when sending terrifying nightmares. The thought of Tui ordering someone to set her on fire was concerning, to say the least. 

“He’s angry, because with the airbenders dead, he’s trapped in the Temples.” Azula shook her head. “He wants the Avatar dead.” 

“Aang? Oh dear,” 

“No,” Azula interrupted. “The Avatar itself. Raava, the spirit that created the Avatar. I don’t think he wants Aang dead.” 

“That still isn’t comforting,” Yue replied, leading her back towards the others. “By the way, the others are not happy with you.” 

“Katara, you mean?” The princess sneered. 

“Yes. But the firestorm injured Sokka as well as Aang.” Yue tilted her head, gauging Azula’s response. There were times where Azula didn’t care about what happened to others around her when she was focused on something. 

Azula swore. “I didn’t mean for him to be hurt,” she said quietly. “I was only aiming-” 

“I know, but collateral damage is always a concern.” Yue shook her head, quietly pleased that she was showing some concern. “Come on, I believe we have multiple injuries. Zuko might need your help.” 

“I hope not,” was the muttered response. Yue fought not to smile. 

\---

 _Lungs first, then eyes, then skin_

Zuko very carefully leaned back, taking a shuddering breath. He had finished with the internal burns. Sokka was breathing easier, still unconscious, but the ocean depths of his soul were steady once more. Zuko shook out his hands and leaned over to place a burning hand on the boy’s eyes. 

“Katara, enough!” Yue snapped, her voice sharp. He looked over to see the two Water Tribe girls staring off at one another. Azula was behind Yue, the older girl’s arm across her chest in a protective motion. Katara was crouched in front of Aang, as if protecting him for the others. 

“She tried to kill Aang and Sokka!” Katara yelled.

“No, I didn’t,” Azula replied, her voice quiet. “If I wanted them dead, they’d be dead.” She glanced over to Zuko. “I just wanted him to stop, and I had permission to do it.” 

“Permission?” Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“There is a Great Spirit here,” Yue said, though she didn’t take her narrowed eyes off Katara. 

“Then we need to leave,” Zuko said, rolling his shoulders. “I’ll finish healing Sokka and then check Aang. Yue?” 

“He’s breathing and awake,” Yue replied immediately. “He’ll live.” The reporting tone did not appease Katara, who was ready to fight. 

“You-” If the girl was a firebender, she’d be breathing fire. 

“What’s wrong with Sokka?” Azula asked, slipping past Yue. Katara moved to stop her, but Yue stepped between them again, her hand in her sleeve. Zuko knew that she was gripping a dagger, which made him blink in surprise. 

His sister settled down next to him, looking down. Zuko pulled his gaze from the standoff, to check his sister over. She was tired, but she didn’t seem to be injured. Her face was redder than normal, but that was somewhat expected with the heat from the fire storm. 

“I healed his lungs, but his eyes and skin were burnt.” He answered. “He’ll live, but if I don’t-” 

“I can handle his eyes,” She said, shaking her head. “I’ve worked with Jinzhan.” 

“Briefly, and not on something as delicate as eye-” 

“Zuko, I’ve worked with burns, including eyes.” She looked up and glared. “I can handle this. Go fix the Avatar. A tornado takes your breath away. I can’t fix lungs.” 

He sighed, blinking rapidly. He didn’t want to fix more lungs, but he knew that Azula was speaking the truth. “Alright,” He said and rose to his feet. “Be careful,” He murmured.

“I think you should worry a bit more,” She muttered back, glancing at Katara. 

Zuko nodded and stepped forward to the standoff. He held his hands up, approaching slowly. “Katara, can I check him over?” 

“What is she doing to my brother?” Katara snapped. “Get away from him!” He glanced back to see Azula leaning forward, hand wreathed in fire over Sokka’s eyes, her own eyes closed. He knew that healing was more difficult for her, but she had always been determined to fix her own mistakes. 

“She’s healing him. Stop yelling, or you’ll distract her.” Zuko said, his voice sharp. “Now, move, so I can check Aang.” Katara looked up at him, eyes narrowed. 

“You tried to-” 

“If you even start to blame Zuko for any of this,” Yue said sharply, her voice dangerously low, “I will drag you away from the Avatar by your hair.” 

“Yue,” Zuko warned, as Katara gaped at the other girl. “Tensions are high enough without threats.” 

“I’m sick of everything bad being yours or Azula’s fault,” Yue snapped. “Especially since this all started because Aang couldn’t keep his emotions under control!” 

“Don’t blame Aang because the Fire Nation killed his people!” Katara snarled, rising to her feet. 

“We told him!” Yue snarled back, stepping forward. Zuko glanced down to see Aang staring up with wide eyes. 

“ _Enough,”_ Zuko said, his voice a combination of Hakoda at his most disappointed and Liang as his most commanding. Both girls went silent, turning to look at him. “Separate,” He ordered, pointing in two different directions. “Your fighting is slowing us down, which puts us all at more danger. Yue, there, Katara there. I will check on Aang, and Azula will finish with Sokka. Then we’re leaving.” Both girls wavered and he narrowed his eye. _“Now!”_ He barked. 

They obeyed, but didn’t go far, he noticed. He knelt down and looked at Aang, who watched with wide-eyed fear. 

“I’m sorry,” The boy rasped out. 

“I know.” Zuko said softly. “Don’t speak, okay? Not until I see how bad the damage is.” 

He covered his hand in fire and reached out to press it against Aang’s throat. The boy flinched away, but Zuko didn’t pause. While he didn’t think it was good for the Avatar to be afraid of fire, he had just been in a firestorm. Caution was not a bad thing. 

He pressed his hand against the boy’s throat, trying not to sigh. Everything had gone sideways the moment they landed in the South Pole, and he knew that there was no way for him to fix it. There was too much damage between them all. 

How was he supposed to heal an entire world, when he couldn’t even get six kids to try not to kill one another? 

\---

Sokka blinked his eyes rapidly as he came too. A hand was pressed over his face, he realized. Bright lights were playing across his face. 

“Don’t move,” A distracted voice said quietly. _Azula,_ He thought. “I’m not as good as Zuko at this.” 

“How-” He croaked, and coughed as his chest rebelled. Another hand pressed down on him, holding him in place. 

“What did I just say?” Azula growled. “Honestly. I’m almost done, but if I mess up here, you might lose a majority of your sight. And then Zuko is going to tell me that he told me so.” 

He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, but the hand on his chest moved to cover his mouth. 

“Just wait,” She snapped. 

Sokka got the message and waited, as the lights played over his eyes. Finally, they drifted away, and he opened his eyes to see her looking down at him. 

“You set the Avatar on fire,” He muttered. She grimaced and glanced over. 

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” 

“Did he stop?” Sokka asked, starting to sit up. She shoved him back down with a glare. 

“Yes, obviously. You can’t move yet. I fixed your eyes, but your face is still burned.”

“It doesn’t hurt.” 

“Not yet,” She threatened, but sighed. “It’s not terrible, but there’s no point in you being injured at all, if we can help it. It’ll only take me a few seconds. I’m good with burns.” The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Luckily, you were wearing your anorak. What protects you from extreme cold can also protect you from burns. So it’s just your face.” 

“Great.” He let out a deep sigh and settled back. “What’s going on right now?”

“Yue and Katara are probably going to kill one another in a moment,” Azula murmured, pressing a flaming hand to his cheek. “Zuko is healing the Avatar. He was conscious when I passed. Which means he’s probably in a better state than you are.” 

“What was that? Do you know?” Sokka raised a hand and wiggled his fingers. “The-”

“-crazy airball of death? No idea,” She sighed again, shaking her head. Her hand moved to his other cheek“I don’t think it was truly Aang. His eyes-” She paused. “His eyes were blank.” 

“They were glowing.” Sokka pointed out, raising an eyebrow. 

“And blank,” Azula retorted, bringing the fire to his forehead. “There was nothing there, even amidst the glow. It was different.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know though.” 

“It sucks that we don’t know anything about the Avatar,” Sokka muttered. 

“It does-” She trailed off, raising her hand off his skin. She blinked slowly. “But what if we could learn about it?” She said quietly. She glanced over at Zuko, her eyes narrowing. 

“What are you thinking?” Sokka asked, sitting up and holding a hand to his chest. 

She shot him a smirk, before it dropped. “Is your chest still hurting?” 

“I’m fine.” He said, throwing a thumbs up. He looked over to see Katara still glaring down Zuko, who was leaning over Aang. “Geez,” he mumbled.

“Be more worried about Yue,” Azula suggested, nodding. “Katara is dangerous, but if she’s a lobster wolf, than Yue is a murder moose. She only looks like a cute little polar cat.” 

Sokka stared at her with wide eyes. It was well known that lobster wolves were good sled dogs, but the moment they got hungry, they’d attack. One wolf could kill a warrior if they weren’t ready, and worse, lobster wolves always ran in packs. 

But murder moose? They were also known as mantis shrimp moose, but murder moose was a much better name. There was no saving yourself from a murder moose. If one decided to attack, you had the choice of running or dying. There was nothing in between. 

“She-wait- what?” He stammered out. “You can’t describe someone as a murder moose!” 

Azula grinned, sharp teeth glinting. “If the description fits.”

\---  
Aang sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, the moment Zuko was done healing him. His hands were still shaking. He looked around, trying to see where everyone was, and his gaze landed on Gyatso’s necklace. It had been blasted back in the tornado, but had caught on a hook of the temple. It dangled in front of him. 

Shame filled him. 

“Alright,” Zuko announced, climbing to his feet slowly. Aang watched him. The Firebender looked exhausted, he realized. Was that his fault? “Now, we need to figure out what we’re doing from here. Sokka, are you alright?” 

“I’m okay,” The boy answered, rising to his own feet. He stumbled slightly, before Azula grabbed his arm and settled him. He grinned at her. “I’ll be alright.” 

“I think we all need a nap,” Azula grumbled, letting go and rolling her eyes. “Too much excitement, way too fast.” 

“We should leave soon, yes,” Zuko nodded, sighing. “Especially if there is a Great Spirit here. I don’t want Fujin to return, especially if he’s angry with us.” 

Aang shivered. The voice echoed in his mind, pulling at him. He’d never heard anything like it before. That wasn’t what Air was supposed to be. The monks had taught that air was freedom, the ability to go to and fro on a whim. The leaves dance in the breeze, so too do the airbenders. 

That voice wasn’t like that. It wasn’t a breeze, gentle and playing. It was the storm, the one that drove him into the ocean and buried him beneath the waves. It was rage and power, twisted together, like a tornado ripping apart the ground. There was no kindness, no gentleness. 

There was no mercy. 

_No wonder the monks never mentioned this Fujin,_ Aang thought, curling tighter. Fujin was the antithesis of everything the Air monks had believed in. The spirit was death, the air ripped from lungs, and the monks would’ve never have given him offerings. 

Katara’s voice pulled him from his dark thoughts. “I’m not going anywhere with her!” She pointed at Azula. “She tried to murder us.” 

Azula sneered, rolling her eyes. Sokka sighed. “Katara-” He started, grabbing Azula’s arm to keep her from moving forward. 

“No! She threatened me! She set Aang on fire, which almost killed Sokka!” She snapped, climbing to her feet. “She’s dangerous! I’m sick of pretending that she’s not!” 

“And I’m sick of you acting like she’s the problem!” Zuko roared, spinning on her. “You sit there and yell about the fact that Azula started the firestorm and hurt Sokka and Aang, but you’re ignoring the fact that he-” He jabbed a finger at Aang, who reeled as if the boy had hit him. “-lost control of his bending.Lost control! And he nearly killed all of us! So do _not_ blame my sister for saving our lives.” 

Shame choked him. He had lost control. See Gyatso’s- he shook his head, unable to think the words- seeing what he saw had shaken him. There had been a rage in his chest, but more than that, there had been a reprieve. By letting himself fall into that light, that rage, that blankness, for a moment, he forgot who he was. He didn’t have the weight of being the Avatar, the thought of a war hanging over his head. He was just light. 

“A master is expected to have control of their bending at all times.” Yue said softly, shaking her head. Her words from the night before hit him and he felt tears welling up in his eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to hurt-” He started. 

“Intent means nothing,” Azula snapped. “I intended to stop a threat with my attack, but I still harmed Sokka. My intent meant nothing in the eyes of the consequences it caused. I almost killed an ally, and if he’d died, my intent would’ve meant nothing to his family!” She stormed forward, making Aang cringe back. “You caused harm to all of us. You may not have intended it, but you nearly killed every person standing here. Understand that, and more importantly, _do_ something about it.” She leaned back and bared her teeth. “Should you lose control like that again, and put my people at risk, understand that next time, I _will not **miss.”**_

He could hear Katara spluttering in the background, trying to defend him, but he couldn’t speak. He could feel the sobs building in his throat. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying not to break down. 

He hadn’t meant it. He hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone. It wasn’t fair. 

“I think that’s enough,” A soft voice said, and an arm wrapped around his shoulder. He peeked out to see blue and white. Yue pulled him against her, wrapping him in a hug. “We’re shaken and exhausted. Let’s put this conversation to the side, until we are calmer and more rested.” 

Azula backed away from where she was about to fight Katara and shrugged. Zuko nodded, easing into a calmer stance. Druk, tucked in the boy’s shirt, let out a small trill, which Himiko, curled tightly around Azula’s neck, answered. 

“Azula had an idea,” Sokka interjected. “She said that you would know somewhere that we could learn more about the Avatar and what they can do?” 

Zuko seemed confused, before he blinked. “Oh, that’s brilliant,” He murmured. He nodded. “Kyoshi Island has a tentative trade agreement with Shohei, but they have a much better connection to Omashu. They might be willing to share information, especially if they see the Avatar himself.” 

“So we have a heading,” Yue said quietly. She ran a hand down Aang’s arm, a soothing motion that was working. “We can rest and perhaps make sure we’re properly equipped for the upcoming trip.” 

Aang felt a hand reach down and touch his arm. He looked up to see Zuko, looking concerned. “Come on,” He said quietly. “I think it’s time to go.” He turned to his sister, pulling her away and leading her towards the courtyard where they left Appa. 

Aang glanced over, one final look at the necklace dangling in the wind. He shivered, cold and ashamed. He didn’t deserve them being nice to him. 

“I-” He started, but Yue gently covered his mouth with her hand. 

“You are tired. You are shaken. Most importantly, you feel guilty.” She sighed, and glanced over. “These are normal. We will help you, and continue to help you. But there are lessons to be learned, and you must understand something.” She nodded towards Zuko and Azula. “Their lives aren't their own. The Fire Nation is balanced on their shoulders. What’s more, the entire world is balanced atop the Fire Nation. Azula has learned to take threats seriously.

“We are the world’s last hope. All of us. Should anything happen to us-,” Yue closed her eyes and shook her head. “We can’t let it happen.” She hugged him one last time and rose. “Something to think about.” She looked at the necklace. “We’ll let you say your final goodbyes.” 

She turned to follow the others, leaving him alone, with only the wind as company.


End file.
